Circuit controller



Janis, 1929. 1,700,149

T. G. STILES CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed June 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet I INVENTDR:

Thomas Geo. Stiles. BY Ms ATTORNEYS M GW SL4 MM.

Jan. 29, 1929. 1,700,149

T. G. STILES CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed June 28, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 Fly 2, a

INVENTOR Thomas Gag. Stilts BY his ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 29, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS GEORGE STILES, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

Application filed June 28, 1927. Serial No. 202,074.

This invention relates to circuitcontrollers for use in connection with railroad signal work. More particularly, the invention pertains to an electric circuit controller which is adapted for use with a standard interlocking machine now in common use in railway practice. According to the invention the circuit controller is so connected to the interlocking machine that it is actuated by and upon operation of a lever latch handle which forms a part of the machine and which may be used to control switches, semaphores or the like.

Before proceeding with the description of the invention it will be necessary to refer to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view of an interlocking machine with a circuit controller according to the invention attached thereto.

Figure 2 is an end view of the circuit controller.

Figure 3 is a front View of the circuit controller, the casing thereof being sectioned in order to show the interior of the controller.

Figure 4 is a side View of the same, the easing being sectioned in order to show the interior of the controller.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a detailed view of means for actuating a shaft, upon which are mounted the contact discs, by a shaft on the interlocking machine.

Figure 7 is an end view in detail of one of the contact discs.

Figure 8 is a detailed view of a washer used to adjustably connect the contact discs.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along the line 9-9 in Figure 8 and looking in the d irection of the arrows.

Figure 10 is a sectional view SllOWiDg the manner of mounting the contact discs upon the shaft within the circuit controller and showing the manner of holding them in adjustable relation with each other.

Referring to Figure 1, the interlocking machine which is there illustrated comprises a lever a, pivoted as at a, which may be used to throw switches or to operate semaphores through the tail levers a a Movement of the lever a is controlled by the rocker die a which is shown in abutment with the stop a on the quadrant a. The lever a may be moved to the right along the quadrant a by depressing the latch handle a thereby raising the rocker die a out of abutment with the stop a The rocker die a travels in the track a in the rocker a and, therefore, when the rocker die ais raised by depressing the latch handle a the rocker a will also be raised about its pivot point a The end a of the rocker a is connected through a universal joint to the link a which is connected at its other end with the locking shaft a. Movements of the end a of the rocker a will, therefore, cause the shaft a to rotate in a manner which will be apparent. Depressingthe latch handle a to raise the rocker die a over the abutment a causes the end a of the rocker a to move through a certain distance. hen the lever a is pulled to the right, the rocker die a will travel along the track a and, since the radii of curvature of the track a and the upper edge of the quadrant a are the same, no movement will be imparted to the end a of the rocker until the rocker die a passes over the abutment a whereupon the lat-ch handle a will be released. and the end a of the rocker be moved through a distance equal to that through which it was moved by raising the rocker die a over the abutment a In other words the end a of the rocker a is moved only upon depressing or releasing the latch handle a Of course, it then follows that the shaft a will be rotated at such times only.

There has been illustrated in Figure 1 only one of a plurality of levers all of which are mounted upon the base a in the same manner as the lever a and with all of which are similarly associated with shafts, such as a. Movements of these shafts, and hence of the levers, are controlled by interlocking devices indicated in general at a, the action of which it is not necessary to set forth in detail for an understanding of this invention.

It is desirable, in an interlocking machine of the nature of that set forth above, to provide means for energizing or de-energizing certain electrical devices, such as polarizing relays, for instance, automatically upon movement of the lever a. It is the principal object of this invention to provide such means. To this end, according to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, a circuit controller comprising a housing, in which is mounted a shaft carrying a plurality of contact discs, is mounted upon the interlocking machine in such a manner that movements of the locking shaft may be imparted to the shaft carrying the contact discs, thereby making or breaking certain circuits in a manner which will appear later.

interlocking machine.

A further object of the invention consists in supplying suitable means to impart the movements of the locking shaft to the shaft upon which the contact discs are mounted. Still another object consists in so mounting the contact discs upon the shaft that they may be readily adjustable with respect to one another so as to make or break whatever circuits it may be desired to make or break upon movement of the shaft. Other objects of the invention will appear more clearly in the following description.

The circuit controller itself consists of a metal base Z) which is formed with lugs Z) by means of which it may be mounted upon the The base is also formed with a hole 5 therein through which may pass the locking shaft a. Perpendicular to the base and integral therewith are formed pillar blocks 6 which are provided with bearings for the shaft 6 A plurality of contact discs 6 are mounted upon the shaft 5 in a manner which will be described hereinafter.

A plurality of strips of insulating material b are fastened to the base as by means of the lugs b and the bolts 6 Upon the strips 6 are mounted a plurality of contact springs 6 for co-operation with the contact discs, and a corresponding number of binding posts 6 for connection with outside wires (not shown).

The contact discs 72 are formed of insulating material Z) having strips of metal 6 embedded in a portion of their peripheries. They are drilled out as at 5 to the diameter of the shaft 72* and have mounted on one side the notched discs 6 as by means of the rivets b The discs are mounted upon the shaft 6 with the sides upon which are mounted the notched discs Z2 adjacent one another. Washers Z2 are placed between the sides of the contact discs upon which are mounted the notched discs I). The washers 6 are all formed with a tooth 6 which fit into the slot 6 in the shaft 5*. The washers 5 are formed with projections Z), 6 in their peripheries for co-operation with the notches in the discs 6 It will be seen that the contact discs may be adjusted to any angular position by merely separating them and turning them to any desired position. The projections 25 and 5 on the washers b are formed on the discs so that one is onetooth space away from a diameter passing through the other. In this way a far greater degree of adjustability between adjacent contacts discs is secured. The discs are held in position upon the shaft 6 between the bearing 6 and the nut 6 The circuit controller is adapted to be fastened to the interlocking machine by merely the bolts (0 and replacing them through the lugs b, the locking shaft a passing through chine.

the hole 6 into the interior of the controller. in order to transmit movements of the looking shaft o to the shaft 5 a clamp 0 is adapted to be fastened to the shaft o as by means of the stud c and the bolt 0 the clamp a carrying a pin 0 upon which is rotatably mounted the roller 0". The roller 0 co-operates with the surfaces 0 0 in the cam c which is carried with the shaft 5* as by means of the set screw 0 The rollers c is formed with a spherical surface and fits exactly between the cam surfaces 0 c in all positions of the cam so as to prevent any lost motion in transmitting the movement of the locking shraft a to the perpendicular shaft b Space is left between the end of the roller and t is inner surface 0 of the cam in order to compensate for axial movements of the locking shaft a. It will be obvious, however, that other means, such as mitered gears, may be used to transmit movements between the two shafts.

In order to prevent tampering the circuit controller may be provided with a housing (Z which may be locked in place by means of a lock passing through the lug 6 formed on the base. The base is formed with holes I) through which wires may be. led to the binding posts.

lit will now be apparent that movements of the locking shaft a upon depressing or releasing the latch handle a preparatory to swinging the lever a, are transmitted directly to the shaft 0 which carries the contact discs for controlling any desired circuits. Thus any desired circuits may be controlled automatically upon operation of the latch handle a which must be moved before the lever on can be moved, and movements of which are, in turn, controlled by interlocking devices associated with the locking shaft a.

lit will be seen that there has been provided a circuit controller having contact discs which may be adjusted to make or break any desired circuits automatically upon operation of the latch handle of a standard interlocking ma- T'his is accomplished without the necessity of altering in any way any of the parts of the standard interlocking machine and the whole construction is serviceable, compact and easy of manufacture.

Nothing which has been said in the foregoing specification is intended as a limitation upon the scope of the invention except as indicated in the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character describedhaving a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle, and a shaft independent of the controller adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combination, electric circuit control means in the controller, and means to mount the controller in operative relation with. said shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon movement of the latch handle.

2. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle, a rocker ada iitcd to move apon movement of the latch handle, and shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combination, a shaft rotatably mounted in the controller, tr c circuit control means on said second shaft, and means to transmit movemen ts of the first named shaft to the second named shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon movement of the latch handle.

23. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle, and a shaft adapted to rotate upon mo uncut of the rocker, in combination, a sh mounted rotatably in the controller, a plurality of electric circuit control means mounted on the second named shaft, means to mount the controller upon the interlocking machine at one end of the first named shaft, and means carried with the. two shafts to rotate the. second nan'ied shaft upon rotation of the first named shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon moveelec ' ment of the latch handle.

4. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon moven'ient of a latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle and a locking shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combination, a base formed with means to mount it upon the interlocking machine and a hearing therein to receive one end of the locking shaft, a shaft mounted rotatably upon the base, a plurality of electric circuit control JQSLHS adjustablv mounted on said second named shaft, and means to rotate the second named shaft upon rotation of the locking shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon movement of the latch handle.

5. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle. a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle, and a locking shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combination, a base formed with means mounted upon the interlocking machine and a bearing therein to receive one end of the locking shaft, a shaft mounted rotatably upon the base, electric circuit control means comprising a plurality of contact discs mounted on said second named shaft, means to adjust the relative angular position of the contact discs with respect to each other, means to maintain the discs in adjusted position, means for connec tion with outside wires co-operating with the discs, and means to rotate the second named shaft upon rotation of the locking; shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon moven'ient of the latch handle.

In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle, and a locking shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combination, a base formed with means to mouni it upon theinterlocking machine and a hearing therein to receive one end of the locking shaft, a shaft mounted rotatably upon the base, said second named shaft being disposed perpendicular to said first named shaft, electric circuit control means comprising a plurality of contact discs mounted adjustably on said second named shaft, notched discs mounted upon alternate proximate faces of the contact discs, means co-operating with the shaft and with the notched discs to hold the contact discs in adjusted relation upon the shaft, means for connection with outside wires cooperating with the discs, and means to rotate the second named shaft upon rotation of the locking shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon movement of the latch handle.

7. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of the latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle, and a locking shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in con'ibination, a base formed with means to mount it upon the interlocking machine and abearingtherein to receive one end of the locking shaft, a shaft mounted rotatably upon the base, said second named shaft being disposed perpendicuhur to said first named shaft, electric circuit control means comprising a plurality of contact discs mounted adjustably on said second named shaft, notched discs mounted upon alternate proximate faces of the contact discs, means co-operating with the shaft and with the notched discs to hold the contact discs in adjusted relation upon the shaft, means for connection with outside wires co-operating with the discs, means to rotate the second named shaft upon rotation of the locking shaft, whereby said circuit control means will be actuated upon movement of the latch handle, a cover plate for the controller, and means formed on the base to prevent removal of the cover.

.8. In a circuit controller for use with an interlocking machine of the character described having a lever adapted to be moved upon movement of a latch handle, a rocker adapted to move upon movement of the latch handle and a locking shaft adapted to rotate upon movement of the rocker, in combina tion, a base formed With means to mount it upon the interlocking machine and a bearing therein. to receive one end of the locking shaft, a shaft mounted rotatably upon the base, a plurality of electric circuit control means adjustably mounted on said second named shaft, and self-compensating means to transmit r0- tation of the locking shaft to the second named shaft comprising a clamp removably ca Med with the locking shaft, a cam having opposed cam surfaces removably carried with the second named shaft, a pin carried with the clamp, and a roller having a spherical surface adapted to maintain contact with both the cam surfaces in all positions of the cam, whereby said circuit control means Will be actuated upon movement of the latch handie.

This specification signed this 10th day of 25 

